Continued from page 1, The Solution... Relocalization is a term for a way of life, where not only energy is locally produced and consumed, but also food and goods. The idea is to strengthen the local economy rather than ship everything in from across the country and overseas. Much of the conventional thinking about alternative energy rallied around mega projects: 60 square miles filled with huge arrays of solar collectors that produce enough energy to power a small city.

-backed report published Wednesday. Global energy-generating capacity from renewable sources rose by 115 gigawatts in 2012, compared with 105 gigawatts the previous year, the report by the Paris-based think tank REN21 showed. Installed renewable energy capacity rose to over 1,470 gigawatts, equivalent to about 1,500 nuclear reactors. Two thirds of all renewable capacity still comes from hydropower, but wind and solar have been gaining. The worldwide capacity of photovoltaic cells, which convert sunshine into electricity, reached 100 gigawatts last year, the report said.

The drop in solar prices – fuelled by Chinese manufacturers – helped bring the overall cost of investment in renewables down 12 percent to $244 billion from $279 billion in 2011, effectively boosting the amount of generating capacity investors can get for their money.
Green Courses & Clean Energy Training Live & Online. Washington Post: Utilities Wage Campaign Against Rooftop Solar. (Welcome to the Green Energy Association of Israel (GEA-IL)

Back in April, we brought you news about the GoSol initiative, which aimed to kick off a global wave of solar entrepreneurship through the development and release of free construction guides for using local materials to build efficient solar concentrators for cooking, drying, or heating water. "GoSol.org’s mission is to eradicate energy poverty and minimize the damage of climate change by spreading our DIY tech and breaking down the barriers to solar energy access.With you, we want to connect communities, entrepreneurs & makers with the world’s most powerful energy source. All the tools and materials needed to implement these technologies are already produced and stocked massively around the world.
" - GoSol " ... an energy solution must be low capital (lower the better), yet power a viable economy, and be locally buildable and maintainable with little or no imports.

France decrees new rooftops must be covered in plants or solar panels. Rooftops on new buildings built in commercial zones in France must either be partially covered in plants or solar panels, under a law approved on Thursday.

Green roofs have an isolating effect, helping reduce the amount of energy needed to heat a building in winter and cool it in summer. They also retain rainwater, thus helping reduce problems with runoff, while favouring biodiversity and giving birds a place to nest in the urban jungle, ecologists say. The law approved by parliament was more limited in scope than initial calls by French environmental activists to make green roofs that cover the entire surface mandatory on all new buildings. The Socialist government convinced activists to limit the scope of the law to commercial buildings. The law was also made less onerous for businesses by requiring only part of the roof to be covered with plants, and giving them the choice of installing solar panels to generate electricity instead.